Asheville Cats Disappearing Act

On the way up to Michigan we stayed at our usual LaQuinta Inn in Perrysburg, Ohio. The cats have gotten into a little routine at the hotel. When we first get there they have to smell the place over. They have a little dry food & water then they finally use the litter box. Once they seem to have settled down a bit I give them their puppy food (canned food.) They pretend to relax when we go to bed then they fight the rest of the night. Needless to say, I don't get much sleep. Robert seems to be able to sleep right through it. I guess hearing loss has its advantages. They finally settle down again around 5:00 AM. The comforter always slides off the bed on to the floor and Charlie likes to hide under it. I think I mentioned before that the beds are on a wood pedestal so they can't hide under the bed. Charlie smashes himself as far under the bed as he can under the comforter so he thinks he's safe. When I woke up that morning I saw Harvey dive under the comforter, too. As we were getting ready to leave I told Robert to leave them alone and pretend we don't know where they are so we can take them by surprise. We always have to stay one step ahead of those rascals. We loaded the car and when it came time to put the cats in the carrier we were each holding an end of the comforter and I said, "On the count of 3 get ready to grab a cat." We pulled the comforter away and they were gone! It was like a disappearing act! We looked at each other and knew there was no other place they could have gone. I felt under the overhanging edge of the box spring and the bottom was torn out. They were inside the bed! For a second I thought we were going to have to call maintenance but we pulled the (king-size) mattress off and Robert tipped the box spring up in the air and was shaking cats out.
They can't out-smart us! We locked them up and left the room looking like it had been ransacked.

We're Movin' On Up

Now that the drywall is up the builder was able to give us a completion date as promised. The house will be finished mid-October. Hooray! I would have liked it to be sooner but at least now we have a time frame to work with.

Home Again

Most of the FinnFesters went home on Sunday. Bobbie & Michael headed back south Monday and Erin left Tuesday morning. Robert & I decided to pack up and leave, too, so we loaded the dirty laundry in the car and he dropped me off at the laundromat. We took off about 3:00 in the pouring rain. It rained every day while we were up there and things were so damp nothing ever dried out. We were glad to go back to the land where it never rains, drought-riddled North Carolina. We spent the night at the usual LaQuinta in Perrysburg, Ohio and arrived home Wednesday between 6:30 - 7:00 PM. We threw our stuff in the house and raced off to see the progress on our house. The siding is almost finished. They still have to do the tapered porch columns. Look how cute the carport is!

The drywall is finished. Now it feels like a real house.

FinnFest

The day after the wedding I drove down to Howard City to visit my friend and former sister-in-law, Diane, and her family. I left Robert in the care of Sue & Roger. It served them right since Sue was feeding him Bloody Marys and he was too annoying to take with me. When I got back Robert & Roger went bar-hopping on bicycles (don't ask.) We ended up eating the leftover wedding food and drinking leftover wedding wine and spent the night. The next morning we went back up to the cabin and Patti & Jeff Houslander came up for the night. It was really good to see them. They left Tuesday morning which turned out to be a good thing because we had a huge storm in the afternoon and our power went out. It didn't come back on until 1:30 in the morning.
The next few days seemed to drag on waiting for FinnFest. Bobbie & Michael arrived on Thursday with Sarah along as a stow-away. Then Friday evening the rest of the brothers & families showed up. Erin was supposed to drive up Friday night but couldn't leave work early so she came on Saturday.
FinnFest didn't seem as festive this year because the Old Finns from Traverse City didn't come. Uncle Jim and Aunt Max were under the weather and Cousin Roland refused to take a shower so Aunt Yaya stayed home with him. Poor Cousin Cindy had to drive by herself. After awhile we all started thinking, "That's all it takes? Refuse to take a shower?" We couldn't believe it was that simple! All these years people have been coming up with elaborate excuses to miss FinnFest. Divorce, "forgetting" to put in for the time off at work, I live in Colorado and can't make it, etc. The answer was right under our noses! Well, Roland will be sorry because he just broke the 3-way tie for Cousins with Perfect FinnFest Attendance. Now it's down to me and Cindy (if you've ever been to FinnFest you know how pathetic that is.)
This year I decided it was time for a FinnFest song. There hasn't been one since "Lilybird Lane" performed by Yaya, Mimi and Cindy way back when. It was a tough act to follow but I figured enough time had passed and no one would remember how good it was. My song was "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of FinnFest." I know that sounds similar to a Nat King Cole song but I swear I wrote mine first. Meghan and I led the sing-a-long with Mimi on the kazoo (no one else plays a musical instrument except Sarah) and Erin played the slide whistle. We were a big hit! I've had requests for the words - well, one from a 4-year-old who wanted them so he can improve on them for next year. Hey, he can't even read!


FinnFest always seems to fall around John's birthday. Is that just a coincidence?





Meghan piloting the booze cruise.

Wedding Continued

The wedding was at a beautiful old church in Big Rapids. It went off without a hitch. We went straight to the B&B for the reception after the ceremony. There was a huge covered wrap-around porch and everyone gathered out there for appetizers and drinks before dinner. The dinner was delicious and then came the dancing. Everyone had a good time.

Sue hired a professional break-dancer for the reception.

Sarasota Sue Get Married

We went back to Michigan for a few weeks to attend Sue's (and Roger's) wedding and for FinnFest. The wedding was on the 12th in Big Rapids so we drove down on Friday. Friday night everyone who was already in town met at Sue's house for a drink then we went over to the Elk's Club for the fish fry. Nancy seemed to like one elk in particular. Saturday before the wedding I went to help Sue get ready for the big day. They had rented a bed & breakfast for the reception. It was a beautiful, restored victorian with 3 bedrooms upstairs. The happy couple and the bridal party were staying in the rooms for the night. Nancy & Sue were getting ready there and Sue's new step-daughter-in-law, Dinah, was there also to do their hair. Everyone was ready on time and Nancy's husband, Don, was our shuttle service to the church which wasn't far away.




Sue & Nancy with a mysterious man.

Sue with her Ladies-in-waiting.

Fireworks

The night of the 4th we went into downtown Asheville to watch the fireworks.

More of the 4th

While we were out at the house Erin and I went blackberry picking. We just walked down to the end of our road to Kalmia and there are TONS of blackberries. Most of them aren't ripe yet but we managed to pick enough to have for dessert with strawberries & whipped cream. We're going to be gone when they all ripen but can't wait for next year when we're living there and can walk down every morning to pick some for our breakfast. IF we can fight the bears for them.

Erin with the hydrangea showing her new look. NO GLASSES. She got contacts just for the white water rafting.

4th of July

Erin came into town on the 4th of July. Her friend, Amy, flew her in for a long weekend to surprise Cheri for her birthday. Erin stayed with us on the 4th then the next day went with Amy & Cheri to go camping and white water rafting. We picked her up from the airport then went straight out to the house for a picnic lunch. It rained for awhile so we ate under cover on the (future) lower level patio. Then we hiked down the new pathway to see the newly-graded "Secret View."

House Update

The porches and porch ceilings are all in, grading has been done and the insulation is in. Tuesday (July 8) the drywall will start. We're going to Michigan for 2 weeks so hope the drywall will be finished when we get back. Then the builder will give us a move-in date. Hooray!